Safety and Freedom

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing, as we mourn along with the families of those who lost loved ones, many politicians are already seizing on the opportunity to politicize this unimaginable act of terrorism. The smoke had barely settled in Boston when Rahm Emanuel was already praising the use of cameras by government agencies, others started talking about heightened security at public events, and some liberal activists are even using the bombing as a way to further their anti-gun agenda. Then the other morning as I was watching the Today show, they had a segment where the “professionals” gave their opinions on current events and one of the events they discussed was the use of cameras by government agencies to apprehend criminals. Only one of the three people in the group thought that the overuse of cameras by government agencies would infringe on our civil liberties – the other two, one man in particular, said he was willing to give up his civil liberties if it meant keeping his family safe. Now I have seen this man before and I know his views are liberal but at what point does a person stop giving up their privacy and civil liberties to try to ensure a small amount of safety? Since September 11, 2001 the American people have been asked to give up many freedoms and conveniences in the name of safety and to some extent they have worked but where do we need to stop and say enough is enough? With the introduction of the Patriot Act – Congress was trying to ensure the safety of the American people after 9/11 but in many ways the Patriot Act crossed the line and invaded the Constitutional rights and privacy of American citizens. Today many government agencies can access everything from our emails, to our phone records, and everything in between without a search warrant just because they feel the need or simply because they want to access our records. Also, with the use of drones, government agencies will now be able to spy on us at